of the Second World War allies and enemies, however, was made possible by the end of the Cold War and the reunification of Germany, neither of which was greatly influenced directly by American action. Rather, each of those phenomena occurred primarily because of the emergence of a global capitalist economy, of which all nations want to be a part, and they most certainly did not want Iraqi control of one half of the world's oil reserves, a control which could jeopardize the global economy of which they want to be a part. The joining of the coalition by the Mideast countries occurred because the leaders of those countries wanted to be rid of Saddam Hussein on almost any terms. The fact that the coalition developed is not so remarkable. It would have been remarkable if it had not developed.
In the United States, an all volunteer arms permitted the citizenry the luxury of having a war, while, at the same time, knowing that neither they nor their children would be participants, unless they volunteered for such participation. Because the war ended quickly (Iraq never offered the coalition any real resistance, to the great surprise of almost everyone), and because so few American lives were lost, the American public never demanded of its politicians the real reasons why the United States entered the war. After the war, it is not well accepted that Saudi Arabia was never threatened by Iraq, and the invasion of Kuwait was not a threat to American national security. The question remains, therefore, as to why the United States jumped into war. The real answer to that question probably means that the president's New World Order will not be as idealistic and as progressive as many people hope.2
The New World Order envisioned by President Bush likely envisions an American hegemony on a global basis. Such a hegemony is of particular significance for a country, such as the United States, which is on the verge of becoming the number thre...